‘Tried our best, wasn’t enough time in the end’ – Temba Bavuma after first Test against West Indies finished on level terms

Temba Bavuma. (Photo Source: Twitter)

The first Test of the series between West Indies and South Africa finished on level terms in Trinidad. The visitors were optimistic about picking up a win but the rain played a spoilsport, which allowed West Indies to make a comeback. In the first innings, the Temba Bavuma-led side managed to take a lead of 124 runs and started well with the bat in the second innings. Tristan Stubbs led the way, scoring 68 runs but interestingly, South Africa declared their innings on 173 runs, hoping to win the game in the last few hours.

The Kraigg Brathwaite-led side however decided to give it a shot and try to chase 298 runs. They lost a few early wickets in the process but Keacy Carty and Alick Athanaze managed to pull things back. The latter made 92 runs, which gave West Indies the much-needed momentum as they were cruising for a victory but the rain had done too much damage, which forced the teams to settle for a draw.

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma was slightly disappointed after missing out on the win. He explained that the wickets didn’t break as much as he expected but was happy with the performance of the batters, particularly Stubbs, who played a vital knock in the second innings. He believes that if the Proteas had a bit more time, they could have pulled it off but the weather played a spoilsport.

“We tried our best from our side. Just wasn’t enough time in the end. Wicket didn’t break up as much as we expected as well. The elements got the better of a good competitive game of cricket. Went with an extra batter to cushion our inexperience. We’d like to be more ruthless as batters. Guy like Stubbs will take a lot of confidence from a knock like that. Lot of positives. We lost time because of the weather,” Bavuma said in the post-match presentation.

On that wicket, felt like Keshav and KG were best suited to get wickets: Bavuma

Besides, the South African skipper also lauded the duo of Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada for their superb bowling efforts. The pair had toiled hard for most of the day for the visiting side. Notably, the duo bowled 38.2 overs and shared five wickets between them in the second innings of the first Test.

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“We’d have liked the wicket to deteriorate a bit more but it didn’t. We tried our best with the resources we had. Little bit more time and we could be saying something different. On that wicket, felt like Keshav and KG were best suited to get wickets. The rest of the bowlers did their jobs well. Two guys to attack and the rest to support,” he added.

The second and final Test of the series will begin on August 15 and will be played at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.